


Wake Me Up (Caught in a Bad Dream)

by truecaptainswanlove



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-11-01 13:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10922553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truecaptainswanlove/pseuds/truecaptainswanlove
Summary: After cursing Snow and Charming, the Evil Queen decides to set her sights on a new target: Emma and Killian.When Killian is placed under a curse, Emma must find a way to break it with the help of her family. Will she be able to break the curse? Or is her True Love lost to her forever?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for Season 6 during the summer before it aired, when we knew about the split queen story line, but have just gotten around to writing it. I changed up my original idea a bit to include Snow and Charming's curse. Canon until 6x08. Title from the song "Bad Dream" by Ruelle. Hope you enjoy!

The loft door closed with a soft thud as Emma and David got home from work, David hanging up his leather jacket as he entered. The day had been spent trying to figure out where the Evil Queen would strike next; even though she had accomplished what she had been trying to for years by cursing Snow and her husband, the Charming family couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t cause more chaos in town. Regina was trying to help them find a way to stop her evil half but even she wasn’t sure what the Queen would do after getting her revenge. There was also the problem of finding a way to break the curse set upon Snow and David; Regina was looking in her vault for a solution, while Belle and Killian looked through the library for any useful information. No matter where they looked to find how to break a curse, they always came across the same thing: “ _True love can break any curse_.” But what happened when both halves of true love were cursed? None of them had heard of a curse like this one and it was making it difficult to know where to look.

“Well, I guess I should grab a bite to eat before waking Snow up,” David said.

Emma looked worriedly at her father, knowing how much of a toll this whole situation was taking on him. While both he and her mother tried to be optimistic and hopeful of finding a cure, Emma could tell they were getting discouraged. She saw it in the way their shoulders slumped a little more each day, in the downcast expressions on their faces, how they seemed lost without their other half beside them.

“I can stay for dinner if you want some company Dad,” Emma offered. She hated leaving her parents alone with no company except for their sleeping partner. Besides, maybe it would make her feel like she was doing _something_ useful. She was the Savior, shouldn’t she have figured out a way to bring back her parents happy ending by now? But until they found a way to break the curse, Emma was at a loss as to what to do.

“You don’t have to do that Emma, you and Hook probably had something planned already.”

“I know I don’t have to,” Emma said gently, “but I want to. I think Killian’s still at the library but I’m sure he’d like to join us once he’s done.”

David gave her a smile. Not the slow, wide smile that lit up his whole face like she was used to but a smile all the same and it was better than seeing that dejected look on his face.

 “That sounds great. Do you want to help me start getting dinner ready?”

“Sure thing,” Emma replied as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, firing off a quick message to Killian to let him know about the change of plans. “What are we making?”

 

  ***** 

In the farmhouse across town, the Evil Queen looked on at the domestic scene her mirror displayed with a sneer. Even with the curse she had placed on Snow and her _charming_ husband, they were still finding ways to make her feel nauseous. She had expected the two of them to be miserable, being separated from their True Love with no hope of breaking the curse. Instead, the two of them were trying to make the best of it, living their lives as best they could while leaving hopeful messages for their sleeping partner, going on about how much they loved each other and how they would always find each other. While the Evil Queen was sure that the pair was feeling some despair about the situation, it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted them to feel hopeless, lost, like she had felt when Daniel had been killed.

She had to admit though, maybe it didn’t matter how much despair the Charmings showed. When she had placed the curse on them, she had expected to feel triumphant, having finally found a way to make Snow pay for what she had done. While she felt a certain amount of glee at having caused their problem, she didn’t feel near as much satisfaction as she thought she would. It was nothing compared to what she had felt as she cast the curse that banished them to their miserable lives in this town, seeing the look on Snow White’s face when she realized there was nothing she could do to stop it. Now, the Evil Queen felt almost _empty_ , even though she had finally accomplished her goal. She wasn’t sure why she felt this way and it bothered her.

(Thoughts of a pirate asking her about the constant pursuit of revenge and it being an end, not a beginning, of having nothing to look forward to, flitted through her mind but she brushed them aside).

As she continued to survey the scene in her mirror, the Queen’s eyes landed on Emma and she sneered again. The Savior had caused nothing but problems since she had arrived in Storybrooke. Henry had drifted away from the Evil Queen, the dark side of Regina, because of his birth mother. Then Miss Swan had broken the curse that the Queen had worked so hard on and sacrificed so much for. And if it hadn’t been for Emma wanting to save her precious pirate from the Underworld, Robin would still be alive. It was Emma’s fault that the Evil Queen had suffered so much. Like mother, like daughter, she supposed, her lip curling up again.

Maybe this was the answer to why she wasn’t satisfied with cursing Snow and Charming? Maybe the Queen was focusing on the wrong person; maybe instead of ruining Snow’s life, she should be going after Emma for what she had done. Yes, the Evil Queen mused as she felt a renewed sense of purpose, of blood lust, going after the Savior would be much more satisfying; she was the one responsible for the most recent pain in her life, she should pay for what she had done. But how could she do it?

As she tried to decide the best way to carry out her revenge on the savior, two more people entered the loft shown in the mirror. It was the Charming family mascot, the pirate that had gone soft, followed by that insufferable bookworm. As the pirate greeted Emma with a kiss on the cheek, the Evil Queen smirked. A plan was forming in her mind, a _deliciously_ evil plan, and if it worked, the Savior would never have her true love by her side again.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma turned her head as she heard the loft door open, smiling as Killian and Belle entered.

“Hey Belle,” Emma greeted, “I didn’t know you’d be joining us tonight.”

“Yeah, Killian invited me. I hope that’s okay?”

“Of course it is Belle,” David chimed in, “you’re always welcome here.”

Belle smiled at him. “Thank you. It’ll be nice to have a home cooked meal. The Jolly is comfortable but doesn’t have much for modern kitchen appliances.”

“I believe you mean ‘galley’ there, lass,” Killian corrected as he walked over to Emma. “Hello love,” he said softly before kissing her on the cheek.

“Hey yourself,” Emma grinned at him. “How’d your research go? Any luck finding anything?”

“Unfortunately, no. In all the magic books we’ve looked in, we’ve found all types of different curses and how to break them but nothing like the curse on your parents,” Killian replied, his eyes a bit downcast at having disappointing news.

“There must be something that can help us,” Belle mused. “I find it hard to believe that the Evil Queen is the first person to cast a curse like this.”

“We’ll just have to keep looking,” Emma stated, hoping that they’d find something sooner rather than later.

Just then, Emma’s phone started ringing. She picked it up, noting that it was Regina calling. Maybe she had found something? It must be important for her to call, usually she just sent a text message.

“Hello?” Emma answered as she put the phone to her ear.

“Emma, is Henry with you?” Regina asked in a panicked voice.

“No, I thought he was having dinner with you tonight,” Emma said slowly.

“He was but he’s not home yet. I haven’t heard from him so I tried calling his cell but he’s not picking up and he’s not answering my texts. I’m afraid the Evil Queen might have him.” Regina’s voice was getting more hysterical the longer she talked.

“Okay, Regina, calm down,” Emma said, seeing the worried looks Killian, David, and Belle were giving her. “The Evil Queen is part you, I’m sure she wouldn’t do anything to hurt Henry.”

“But what if she’s mad at him for defying her when Henry saved us from the Mirror world? What if she tries to hurt him or does a spell that will make him love her?”

Emma thought for a second before replying, “Okay, what about a locator spell?”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t have tried that first,” Regina snapped, “it didn’t work. She must have put up some kind of block so we couldn’t find him that way. Emma, what do we do?”

Emma took a deep breath, trying not to panic. It looked like the Evil Queen really did have Henry. She could only pray that the Queen still thought of Henry as her son and wouldn’t try to hurt him.

 “Okay, we’ll go on a search. We’ll head out to Zelena’s farmhouse first, even if the Evil Queen isn’t there, maybe we can find a clue that will tell us where she is.”

“That sounds good,” Regina replied. “But maybe someone could check the docks? We know the Evil Queen has been there before, maybe she’s hiding out there.”

“Yeah sure,” Emma said, “I’ll send David.”

“Maybe Hook would be a better choice, he probably knows the docks better than anyone,” Regina said quickly.

“Um, okay, sure,” Emma said. “We’ll head out right now.”

“Thank you Emma. I’ll try the locator spell again, if it doesn’t work I’ll meet up with you.”

“Okay, good luck. And Regina? We will find him,” Emma said determinedly.

Emma hung up the phone, looking up at the others. “Henry’s missing, Regina is afraid the Evil Queen might have him. David, you and I are going to head out to Zelena’s farmhouse, see if she’s hiding out there. Killian, can you check out the docks?”

“Of course love,” Killian said.

“How about you take Snow with you Emma, she’s the best tracker out of all of us. If there’s anything there, she’ll see it,” David replied.

“Are you sure Dad?” Emma asked, knowing her father hated missing out on the action.

“Of course, it makes sense,” David said, already making his way towards his wife.

Emma nodded her head, realizing her father was right.

“I can look after Neal if you’d like,” Belle offered.

Emma smiled at her gratefully, saying a quick thank you as David kissed Snow. Instantly, David slumped onto the bed asleep as Snow woke up.

“Hmm, hello,” Snow said, looking around and sitting up quickly as she picked up on the tension in the room. “Is everything okay?”

“Henry’s missing, we’re going out to look for him,” Emma said over her shoulder as she put her boots on. “You’re coming with me Mom, grab your bow and arrow in case we need it.”

Snow nodded, getting out of bed, putting on her coat and boots and grabbing her quiver in a matter of seconds.

Emma looked around the group, making sure everyone had what they needed, before heading out the door.

*****

Killian arrived at the docks, looking around frantically. While he didn’t think the Evil Queen would hurt Emma’s boy, he wasn’t prepared to trust her with Henry’s safety. He took in the gray sky blending into the sea, the smell of salt water and sand picking up with the breeze, trying to find something out of place.

“Help,” cried a voice, but it was far away and Killian couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

“Henry,” Killian yelled, the wind carrying his voice out over the sea.

“Help,” came the voice again. Killian was sure it was Henry, but it sounded like it was coming from the Jolly. Why would the Queen have him there?

“Killian, help me!” Henry’s voice cried frantically, spurring Killian into action. He ran onto his ship, his legs carrying him across the deck, barely slowing down before going below. His heart was pounding, with fear for Henry and anger at the Queen for doing this to the boy. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he ran in the direction of the voice, which was coming from his cabin.

Killian pushed the door open and ran into the room, crying out “Henry,” as he entered. Turning around in a frenzy, he looked around the room for Henry but he couldn’t see him. Spying something on his bed, he moved further into the room.

It was a seashell, a conch really. And a voice was echoing out of it, sounding very much like Henry, Killian realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Behind him, he heard his cabin door shut and he whirled around.

“Sorry, did I frighten you?” the Evil Queen asked with a smirk, not looking sorry at all.

“What do you want,” Killian snarled. He felt like a fool, being cornered like this. And he knew that if the Evil Queen had gone out of her way to corner him, it couldn’t mean anything good.

“Can’t I visit an old friend, Captain?” the Queen said as she walked closer to him, her skirts swishing around as she moved.

“We were never friends, Your Majesty,” Killian said, “we were simply using each other to get what we wanted.”

“Oh,” she gasped dramatically, clasping her hands to her heart, “that hurts, Hook.”

“What do you want” he repeated, losing patience with her games. “I’m guessing it was you that called Emma to report Henry missing?”

“Hmm, you are a smart one, aren’t you? Yes, it was me. I wanted to get you alone and it’s so hard to tear you from your _Twue Wuv’s_ side” the Queen said in a mocking, babyish voice.

“And why did you need me alone,” Killian said in a tight voice, clenching his hand into a fist.

“Because,” she said, advancing on him, “I want to make the Savior suffer, and there are two people I can hurt to do that. Now, I’m not going to go after my son, but you, I have no such qualms about.”

“Don’t you dare go after Emma, or you’ll find my hook in your neck!” Killian shouted, fear for Emma taking over him. The Evil Queen laughed at him.

“I just admitted that I’m using you to hurt her and you’re worried about her safety? You really have gone soft Captain. But don’t worry, you won’t be for much longer.”

Before he could react, the Queen waved her hand and cast her spell.

Killian stumbled back at the force of it, feeling his very heart, his soul was being ripped from him. Then it stopped.

Hook straightened, looking around confusedly. How the bloody hell had he gotten onto his ship? Suddenly, he noticed the Evil Queen standing in front of him.

“Your Majesty,” he said in his most charming voice, “to what do I owe the pleasure. Are you here to question me on why I didn’t kill your mother, because I can explain that…”

“Relax Hook, I’ve moved on past that. Where is my mother, by the way?”

“Well, I’m not really sure where she is at the moment. We went our separate ways so I could gain the trust of Snow White and her comrades. Cora’s helping me find a way to the Land Without Magic so I can skin myself a crocodile,” Hook said in a cold voice, just thinking about the Dark One that had taken so much from him making his blood boil.

The Queen smiled at him. “Well, unfortunately, my mother is no longer able to help you with your revenge but I am more than willing to step in. How about we have a drink for old times’ sake and discuss an alliance?”

Hook looked at her suspiciously, wondering what she was playing at. He doubted the Evil Queen would help him out of the goodness of her heart, so what was in it for her? He figured it couldn’t hurt to hear her out; if she tried to double cross him, he’d cross her first.

“All right lass, for old times’ sake then,” he agreed, reaching for his flask but stopping when he saw his attire. What the bloody hell was he wearing?

“Uh, I think we’ll having something a bit more refined, if you don’t mind,” the Queen said, waving her hand and making two goblets and a bottle of wine appear in a cloud of smoke. She turned and set them on the table, her back to Hook as she poured two glasses. Turning, she offered him one with a smile.

Taking the glass and clinking it to the one she held out, Hook took a healthy swallow. Why anyone wouldn’t want rum he couldn’t understand but he supposed he should try to keep her happy.

As the liquid slid down his throat, a strange feeling overtook him. He suddenly felt sleepy, his heart rate slowing down, his eyes drooping shut. “Wha…” he slurred before he fell to the floor, asleep.

The Evil Queen smirked as she looked down at him. So far, her plan was a success. Now she just had to wait for the Savior to find him and her revenge would be complete.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma and Snow left the farmhouse, Emma practically shaking with frustration and fear. The house had been empty; no signs of Henry or the Evil Queen, no sign of a recent struggle, not even a sign of Zelena being home, so they couldn’t even question her on the Queen’s whereabouts. They had even checked the cellar where Rumple had been imprisoned but no luck. Emma was starting to feel desperate now; where could the Queen have taken her son?

“Let’s head back to town, we’ll meet up with Regina and go from…” Emma started to say, breaking off as she gasped in pain, clutching her hand to her chest and doubling over.

“Emma, are you okay?” Snow asked in a worried voice.

“I, I don’t know,” Emma gasped out. “Something doesn’t feel right.” It felt like her heart was being squeezed tight, knocking the wind right out of her. After a moment, the feeling passed, leaving Emma gulping in air.

“Maybe you should go home and rest,” Snow said, “I’ll…”

“No,” Emma interrupted, “I feel okay now. We need to find Henry.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes Mom, I promise I’m fine. Now, let’s go find my son.”

*****

Emma and Snow raced onto Main Street. As they came up to Granny’s, Regina stepped out, the bell tinkling behind her. She looked up and spotted them, smiling and waving as she headed their way.

“Regina,” Emma exclaimed, “did you find Henry?”

Confusion passed over Regina’s face as she replied, “What do you mean, found him? I just dropped him off at Granny’s, he and Violet were going to do some homework together.”

“You could have let us know, we were worried sick about him!” Snow said.

“Why would you be worried, he was with me all day,” Regina replied.

Dread was slowly spreading through Emma as she heard Regina’s words.

“But you called us about half an hour ago,” Emma said in a desperate voice. “You told us Henry was missing and that the Evil Queen had him.”

Alarm flashed across Regina’s face. “I don’t know who you were talking to but it wasn’t me. I’ve been with Henry all day, he never went missing.”

“But who called Emma then?” Snow asked.

“One guess,” Emma said darkly. “Someone who looks and sounds just like Regina but is a lot more evil.” Emma saw it in her mother’s eyes when she clued in.

“The Evil Queen,” Snow breathed. “But why? Why would she call us and pretend Henry was missing?”

“Maybe she thought you or Charming would be left unattended at the loft?” Regina guessed. But even as she said it, Emma could tell Regina didn’t really buy it. The Evil Queen had already cursed Snow and Charming, what more could she do to them?

As Emma thought back on her conversation, she felt her sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach.

“I think I know,” she said slowly. “When I was talking to her on the phone, it was the Queen that suggested someone look for Henry at the docks. I said I’d send David but she asked for Hook to go.”

“You think she wanted to get him alone?” Snow asked.

“Why else would she specifically ask for Hook? It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I have to agree with Emma,” Regina said, “it sounds like she wanted him separated from the group. We should get to the docks and see if he’s all right.”

Emma nodded, raising her hand to poof them to the docks.

But nothing happened.

“What the hell?” Emma said. “My magic isn’t working. Regina, can you try?”

Regina raised her hand but had the same result. “She must have put up a spell to block people from transporting to the docks,” she said exasperatedly.

Emma felt her fear grow; if she’d had any doubts before about the Queen going after Killian, they were gone now. And if she had Killian, it couldn’t mean anything good. Turning, Emma took off at a dead run to the docks, her mother and Regina following behind her.

*****

Emma arrived at the docks to the waves crashing in the wind, some of the smaller boats being rocked back and forth. Looking around, she couldn’t see any sign of Killian. Hearing footsteps, she turned to see her mother and Regina run up to her.

“I don’t see them,” Snow said after scanning the area. “Where could they be, the cannery?”

“I don’t think so,” Regina said slowly, “I can feel dark magic in this area but I can’t tell where exactly.”

Emma knew what Regina meant about the dark magic. She could feel it in the air too, surrounding her and pushing the air out of her lungs. Instinct made her turn towards the water and the ship that towered above them.

“I think it’s coming from the Jolly Roger,” she said quietly. Slowly, she started making her way towards Killian’s ship, Regina and Snow right behind her. As she walked up the gangplank, the feeling of magic only intensified, making it difficult to draw breath (or was it fear for her True Love that made drawing air into her lungs so difficult?). Looking around the deck, she saw the hatch going down below was open, as if someone had hastily thrown it open before entering the darkness below. Taking a deep breath, Emma took the ladder going down.

The feeling of wrongness only intensified as Emma made her way below deck. It was eerily silent and she could feel more of the dark magic they had noticed above the closer she got to Killian’s cabin. Behind her, she heard the soft whisper of Snow drawing an arrow, the quick whoosh and crackle as Regina conjured a fire ball, both of them preparing for whatever they might face. As she reached the closed door, she took a deep breath to steady herself before entering the cabin.

The first thing she saw was Killian lying on his bed, completely still, as if he was sleeping.

“Killian,” Emma gasped as her legs carried her to the bed, her hands cupping his face as she sat down beside him, checking him over to make sure he was all right. She couldn’t see any visible signs he had been hurt but as she ran her hand over his chest, she couldn’t feel it rise up and down as he breathed.

“I don’t think he’s breathing,” she managed to choke out. “Does that mean he’s….”

“I don’t think he’s dead,” Regina said quickly. “I think she put him under a sleeping curse.”

Relief flooded through Emma as she heard those words. He wasn’t dead. And a sleeping curse was easy enough to break, when you had True Love.

“I don’t like this,” Snow said. “Why would she leave him alone if it was just a sleeping curse? She’d know Emma could break it with True Love’s kiss, she’d want to stop her from doing that.”

“I have to agree with Snow, it could be a trap,” Regina said in a cautious voice.

“Or maybe this was a distraction, so she could wreak havoc somewhere else,” Emma replied. “Or maybe she’s losing her touch. Either way, we have to consider this a good thing that she made this so easy.” And with that, she leaned down and pressed her lips to Killian’s, waiting to feel the rush of magic that signified True Love’s kiss had worked.

But it never came.

Emma stared down at her True Love, willing him to wake up but nothing happened. “Killian,” she whispered. Why hadn’t it worked?

( _Because you’re not enough,_ whispered the old demons in her head, the ones she thought she had gotten rid of, _did you really think you were good enough for True Love, that you deserved it? You’re just a lost little girl, an orphan, no one could ever love you_ ).

“No,” Emma exclaimed, grabbing on to Killian’s lapels, “it didn’t work, why didn’t it work!” And she kissed him again, desperately, almost consuming him, willing him to open his eyes. When she still felt nothing but his cold, unmoving lips under her, she tore away from him, staring down as tears filled her eyes.  

“It won’t work,” said a familiar voice from behind her, a voice that chilled Emma to the bone. She whipped her head around to see Regina and Snow facing the door of the cabin, their weapons of choice drawn. And lounging against the door, looking as if she didn’t have a care in the world, was the Evil Queen.

“What do you mean,” Emma whispered, “what did you do to him!”

The Evil Queen laughed as she said, “What makes you think I did anything to him? Maybe the two of you just aren’t True Love?”

Emma could feel her insecurities rising but she shook them away. “No, I know he’s my True Love, we passed the test in the Underworld,” she seethed, anger rising towards the Queen, “now what did you do!”

The Evil Queen laughed again as she straightened and moved away from the door. “Oh, very well, I was going to draw it out longer but since you’re so determined to believe in him, I’ll tell you. Before I put him under the sleeping curse, I removed a few of his memories.”

“Which memories,” Emma said in a cold voice.

“Oh, not very many,” the Evil Queen replied, “just anything that has to do with _you_.”

Emma felt numb for a second, not taking in what the Queen said. When it began to sink in, she felt a sense of horror rising. “You removed his memories of me,” she whispered brokenly.

“Yes,” the Queen said with a smirk, “the last memory he has is of getting ready to go to the village to trick a few princesses.”

“So he still wants revenge on Rumpelstiltskin,” Snow stated, “and he has no memory of meeting Emma, or anything after that?”

“Exactly,” the Evil Queen said. “And True Love’s kiss can’t work if he doesn’t remember who his True Love is.”

Emma could only stare at the Queen in shock as realization hit her. The feeling of not being able to draw air into her lungs returned, her hands shaking as she grasped Killian tighter.

“Why are you doing this,” Regina said, “you got your revenge on Snow and Charming, why go after Emma too?”

“Because she’s the one who’s responsible for my freshest pain,” the Evil Queen shouted, surprising them with the emotion in her voice. “If it wasn’t for her, Robin would still be alive!”

“Hades is the one who killed Robin, not Emma!” Regina said. “We chose to follow her to the Underworld, she didn’t force us. You can’t blame her for what happened to Robin.”

“If she hadn’t have decided to go after her pirate, Hades wouldn’t have had a chance to kill Robin,” the Evil Queen retorted. “Besides, how is it fair that she gets to have her love back from the dead while Robin is still gone!”

“It’s not fair what happened to Robin, he was a good man who didn’t deserve to die,” Snow said in a pleading voice, “but doing this won’t bring him back.”

“You’re right, it won’t” the Evil Queen said in a more composed voice. “But knowing that the Savior knows what it’s like to lose her True Love forever, seeing the pain on her face, that’s more than enough for me. It’s like I told you all those years ago Snow,” the Queen said while looking right at Emma, “this is _my_ happy ending.”

And with that, she waved her hands, cackling as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Emma to stare at the place she vanished while her heart broke.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma sat there staring forward as a feeling of numbness overtook her body, hearing the Evil Queen’s words replay over and over: _And True Love’s kiss can’t work if he doesn’t remember who his True Love is._

Killian didn’t remember her, had no idea that he’d been able to find True Love after Milah. And because of that, she couldn’t wake him from the sleeping curse. What was she going to do? Emma couldn’t imagine a world without Killian but she couldn’t see a way around this curse either. She could feel the despair clawing its way through her lungs, through the spot where her heart should be, where it now felt like an empty hollow was sitting in her chest.

Emma suddenly felt a dizzy sensation and thought it was the grief overtaking her but then she blinked and she was in the guest room of her ( _their_ ) home, Killian on the bed and Regina and Snow standing a few feet away. Emma realized belatedly that Regina must have transported them back, just as Snow made her way towards her daughter and wrapped her arms around Emma.

“I’m so sorry baby,” Snow murmured in Emma’s ear.

“What do we do Mom,” Emma whispered brokenly, a sob tearing its way from her throat.

“We just have to believe that we’ll find a way,” Snow said in her most soothing voice.

“How,” Regina interjected, “the only way to wake someone from a sleeping curse is True Love’s kiss. As far as I know, Hook’s only had three people that could be considered True Love; two of them are dead and he can’t remember one of them!”

“Regina,” Snow admonished, “you’re not helping.”

“I’m sorry,” Regina said in a gentler voice, “but we have to face the facts. There’s a chance that Hook may never wake up.”

Emma knew what Regina was saying was true but it was still hard to accept. There was no way their story could end like; Killian had been brought back from the dead, for God’s sake, surely that meant there was more for them?

_Or maybe not_ , she thought, _maybe this is the price of being the Savior. I can make sure everyone else has a happy ending but I’ll never have one myself_. The thought brought a fresh wave of grief and despair; being the Savior was her burden to bear, Killian shouldn’t be punished because he’d fallen in love with her.

Snow looked out the window as she said, “It’s getting late, and we should get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow things will look better. Do you want me to stay here tonight Emma?”

“No, it’s okay Mom,” Emma said, “you go home, spend some time with Neal before you and Dad trade.”

“Are you sure? Because I can take Neal here…”

“It’s fine,” Emma interrupted, “I kind of want to be alone right now.”

Snow gently took her daughter’s hands in her own and said, “I know you feel alone right now Emma, but you’re not. You have so many people who love you and we’re going to help you get through this, okay? Don’t shut us out. You know this family, we don’t like to give up. We _will_ find a way to wake him.”

Emma could only nod her head as her mother leaned forward and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Thanks Mom.”

“Do you want Henry to stay here tonight?” Regina offered.

Emma appreciated the offer but she shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m probably not going to be the best company. But maybe he could meet you here, so I can explain to him what’s going on?”

“Of course,” Regina replied, “I’ll call him right now.” With that, she left the room, Snow trailing behind after giving Emma’s hand one last encouraging squeeze.

Emma took a deep breath and looked down at Killian. She noticed, as she always did, just how _young_ Killian looked when he was sleeping. His face always looked so peaceful and innocent; some mornings when Emma woke before him, she just took a few moments to watch him sleep, glad he had a few moments reprieve from his demons. But the thought of him never slowly blinking his eyes open, giving her a bleary smile when he saw her awake, his hair adorably ruffled from sleeping on it, made her heart clench.

“Killian,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry,” she managed to get out as she started crying, her body heaving with her sobs. Emma burrowed her face into the crook between his neck and shoulder as she lay down beside him, closing her eyes tightly, praying that tomorrow she’d wake up and find this was all a nightmare.

*****

Henry stared at the pen in his hand, willing it to write down something, _anything_ , on the blank page in front of him that could help his mom and Killian. But of course, it wouldn’t. He could only record the story as it happened, not make it up as he went along. With a sigh, Henry set the pen aside and grabbed his book, flipping it open to the page where his mom and Killian had shared their dance at Midas’ ball. Emma looked so happy there. It was quite a contrast to the Emma he had seen tonight as she told him what happened, her eyes red-rimmed and her voice wavering at times as she tried not to cry. Emma had already been through so much but Henry was afraid losing Killian might just destroy her.

Not to mention what it would do to him, Henry admitted. He’d been upset when he found out what had happened, and not just because of what it was doing to his mom. Henry had started to look to Killian as a father figure and he didn’t want to lose that.

With a sigh, Henry put his book away and crawled into bed. His other mom had told him they would go to Emma’s house tomorrow and try to come up with a plan. Henry shut his eyes, hoping they’d be able to find something.

*****

When Henry opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was the flames. They were high, seeming to leap over him. The next thing he noticed was the heat, pressing down on him. He figured he should be afraid but he wasn’t. He had been here before, after all.

It was the Netherworld, the realm where the souls of sleeping curse victims travelled. Henry looked around in confusion. It had been ages since he’d been here when he fell asleep. Why was he back all of a sudden?

Just then, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Whirling around, Henry thought he could see a figure in the corner of the room. “Who’s there?” Henry shouted.

The figure made their way towards Henry, moving around the flames into view. When Henry saw who it was, he gasped.

It was Killian. When he saw Henry, he did a double take and Henry felt hope bloom in his chest; maybe Killian recognized him?

“Killian,” Henry breathed, “is it really you?”

Killian nodded and then opened his mouth. “Bae?”

Henry felt his shoulders slump in defeat. So Killian really didn’t know who he was, he just thought Henry was his father.

“No,” Henry said quietly, “I’m not Baelfire. He was my father.”

“Apologizes lad,” Killian said in a voice achingly familiar to Henry, “it’s just that you look remarkably similar to your father.”

Henry managed a small smile as he said, “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

“How is he?” Killian asked eagerly. “I’ve always wondered what happened to him after we… parted ways,” Killian finished with a guilty look on his face.

Henry felt his heart break again as he saw the hopeful look on Killian’s face. He knew what had happened between the two of them in Neverland, knew that Killian had betrayed Neal and felt guilty about it. Now Killian wanted to hear that the boy he had grown to love was all right and Henry had to tell him otherwise.

“He died,” Henry said quietly, wincing at the look on Killian’s face, “a few months ago. He sacrificed himself for everyone else.”

Despair crossed Killian’s face and he cleared his throat before saying “My condolences, lad. If I know one thing about your father, it’s that he wouldn’t have wanted to leave you behind.”

Henry felt his throat tighten as he nodded his head. “Thanks,” he managed to say despite the lump in his throat.

“What’s your name lad?” Killian questioned.

“I’m Henry,”

“Well, Henry, it’s nice to meet you, although I’m sorry it had to be in this dreadful place. Any idea where we are?”

“Actually, I do,” Henry said, quickly explaining the Netherworld to Killian.

“A sleeping curse,” Killian said once Henry had finished. “Well, that explains why the drink that bit- I mean, the Evil Queen, gave me tasted funny,” he finished hastily.

Henry managed a small smile as Killian corrected himself and suddenly he couldn’t keep the truth in any longer. “Actually, this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”

“Pardon me?” Killian replied.

Henry took a deep breath before explaining, “Before she put you under the sleeping curse, the Evil Queen removed some of your memories.”

“And why would she do that?” Henry could tell that Killian didn’t really believe him, he was only humoring him.

“Because she wanted to hurt my mom, and you’re her True Love.” Henry saw a look of shock pass briefly over Killian’s face at his words but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a look of indifference.

“Sorry Henry, you must have me confused with someone else. Milah is my True Love, and I would never fall in love again.”

“But you did!” Henry pleaded with him. “You fell in love with my mom, and she fell in love with you after everything she’s been through. You helped her open her heart up, you gave up your revenge for her!”

It was the wrong thing to say. Henry could see the anger on Killian’s face and for a moment could understand why so many people were scared of Captain Hook. Killian took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions.

“I will _never_ give up on my revenge,” Killian said in a flat voice that didn’t hide the passion behind the words. “I love Milah with all my heart and I will not rest until the Dark One is dead!”

“Please,” Henry begged, “you have to remember that you love my mom. She’s already lost so much, she shouldn’t have to lose you too!”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but I can assure I am not the man you’re looking for,” Killian said. “I’m sorry your mom lost her love but there is nothing I can do about it.”

Henry felt tears well up in his eyes but then he felt a pulling sensation and realized he was starting to wake up. Before he could, he looked at Killian and said “We’ll find a way Killian. You might not remember it but you’re a part of this family, and this family _always_ finds each other.”

The last thing Henry saw before he was sucked out of the Netherworld was Killian staring after him.

*****

Henry woke with a gasp, his heart pounding. As he took in the familiar surroundings of his bedroom, his eyes falling on his storybook, the door swung open and Regina barreled in.

“Henry,” she gasped, “are you okay? I could hear you crying out in your sleep.”

“I’m fine Mom,” Henry said. “I was in the Netherworld, and I saw Killian!”

“You did?” Regina exclaimed.

“Yeah, and I have an idea on how to wake him up! Come on, let’s go to Emma’s place and tell her!” Henry said excitedly as he started to swing the covers back.

“Henry,” Regina said gently as she put her hand on his shoulders, “it’s the middle of the night and Emma’s been through a lot today. How about we let her sleep and we’ll tell her in the morning.”

Henry nodded his head and laid back down, his mother pulling the covers up and kissing his forehead before whispering “Good night.” As she closed the door, his eyes fell back to his book and the page it had opened to. If his idea worked, they might be able to bring Killian back. Henry felt hope flare in his chest again as he closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I didn't update this sooner, I had a busy week last week and couldn't find the time. Hope you enjoy this chapter and finding out what Henry's plan is :)

Emma stood in the kitchen in her home, the quiet unnerving her. Since Killian had moved in, the house had been filled with so much love and warmth at all times of the day. There’d been the sound of coffee brewing, Killian teasing her about how she couldn’t function without it while stealing a cup for himself; bacon sizzling and popping in the pan as Killian tried to convince her that mackerel would be healthier and her refusing good-naturedly; curling up on the couch to watch a movie, a bowl of fresh popcorn between them, Henry excitedly telling Killian why he had to see this particular movie; the rustle of sheets in the middle of the night as they moved together, worshipping each other’s bodies as they showed their love. Now the house felt cold, all the warmth gone after her True Love was cursed.

The front door opened and Emma looked up as her father entered the room. As soon as she saw the look on his face, she could tell he knew what had happened.

“Emma,” he said gently as he wrapped her in his arms, his hand cupping the back of her head, “your mother left me a note to explain what happened. I’m so sorry baby.”

“Thanks Dad,” she whispered, feeling a rush of gratitude towards her mother for telling him. It had been bad enough reliving it last night when she told Henry. Emma hadn’t been sure she could handle telling it again.

“We’ll break this curse sweetie,” David said as he pulled back. “This family always finds a way.”

“But how?” Emma exclaimed as the despair rose. “True Love’s kiss didn’t work, and no one knows another way to break a sleeping curse. And besides, we still have to find a way to break the curse on you and Mom.”

“And we will,” David insisted. “You and Killian share True Love, just like your mother and me. And just because True Love’s kiss didn’t work doesn’t mean we won’t find another way. Don’t give up hope Emma.”

“Kind of hard not to,” Emma said dejectedly, “first the Evil Queen makes it so I can only have one parent at a time, then she takes away my True Love. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“You’re one of the strongest people I know Emma,” David said, “and giving up is exactly what the Queen wants. Don’t give her that satisfaction. Don’t give up on your happy ending.”

Emma managed a small smile. “Thanks Dad,” she whispered as she hugged him.

Just then, the front door opened again. Emma pulled back as Henry and Regina came into the kitchen, Henry looking excited about something.

“Mom,” he exclaimed, “I think I have an idea on how to wake Killian!”

“You do,” Emma said, feeling a spark of hope at his words.

“Last night when I was asleep, I went to the Netherworld and I saw Killian.”

“The Netherworld?” Emma questioned. “I thought you’d stopped going there when you slept?”

“It’s been awhile,” Henry admitted, “and I’m not sure why I ended up there last night but does it matter? What matters is that we can wake Killian!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves Henry,” Regina cautioned. “We don’t know if your plan, whatever it is, will work. How about you tell us what it is.”

“When I woke up, my story book was on the floor and it had opened to part of Grandma and Grandpa’s story,” Henry explained, pulling out his book to show them what he was talking about. “It was when Grandma took a potion to forget Grandpa because it was too painful to remember him. True Love’s Kiss wouldn’t work at first but after Grandpa sacrificed himself for her, it did.”

“I remember,” David said slowly, “it worked because she was reminded of how much I loved her.”

“Exactly,” Henry said excitedly. “I think it could work for Killian too, if we remind him of his love for mom.”

“But Henry,” Emma said, “how can we remind him? He’s asleep.”

“I can go back to the Netherworld since I’ve already been under a sleeping curse. So, I’ll go there and talk to him, tell him how much the two of you love each other, until I can get him to believe it. When he does, True Love’s Kiss should work!” Henry said.

“No!” Emma exclaimed, at the same time Regina said, “Absolutely not!”

“It’s too dangerous Henry,” Emma said, “you were burned in the Netherworld before, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“But…” Henry started.

“No buts,” Regina said firmly. “Henry, Killian wouldn’t want you to risk your safety. As much as he and I disagree, I know he would agree with me on this. You are not to enter the Netherworld and if I have to find a spell to prevent it, I will.”

“Don’t you want Killian awake?” Henry exclaimed as he whirled towards Emma.

“Of course I do kid,” Emma replied gently, “but I don’t want you getting hurt in the process.”

“What if someone besides Henry went to the Netherworld,” David said slowly.

“What do you mean,” Emma asked as she turned towards her father.

“Henry’s not the only one who’s been under a sleeping curse,” David said. “I’ve been under one, I can go to the Netherworld and talk to Killian.”

“You’d be willing to do that?” Emma asked in a quiet voice, feeling touched.

“Of course,” David said, “you’re my daughter and I want you to be happy. Besides, Killian is my friend and a part of this family. He’s risked himself for us before. It’s the least I can do.”

“But Dad, it’s still dangerous,” Emma said.

“Maybe it is, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. Besides, I end up in that red room every time I sleep now, might as well do something while I’m there,” David replied.

Tears welling up in her eyes, Emma stepped forward and hugged David, murmuring “Thanks Dad.” Emma had been alone for so long, always looking out for herself, it still surprised her sometimes when people were willing to put her first.

“Don’t thank me yet,” David cautioned, “this might not work. Give me a couple hours; if he’s anything like he was when we first met, this could take a while.”

Emma nodded as David kissed her forehead. “Good luck.” Watching her father walk out the door, Emma took a deep breath. Now that they had an actual plan, she was starting to feel a bit more settled.

“Well, I should get going,” Regina said, “I still need to find a way to break your parents’ curse and stop my evil half. Do you need me to do anything?”

“No thanks Regina. If I need anything I’ll let you know.”

Regina nodded her head as she started to leave, pausing and looking over her shoulder to say, “Henry, shouldn’t you be getting to school?”

“I have a bit of time before I need to leave,” Henry replied. “I think I’ll stay here with Emma for a bit if that’s okay?”

“All right, I’ll see you later then,” Regina said as she continued out the door.

Emma turned to Henry, opening her mouth to thank him when she saw the dejected look on his face. “Henry, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just glad we found a way to wake up Killian,” Henry said, not meeting Emma’s eyes.

Emma gave him a look. “Kid, superpower, remember? I can tell that you’re lying.”

Henry sighed as he said, “It’s just, I was looking forward to getting Killian to remember you. I wanted to be the one to bring back your True Love. I don’t know, I guess I wanted to be the hero for a change.”

“Henry,” Emma said gently as she took hold of his hands, “you _are_ a hero. You’re the one that came up with this idea; if it wasn’t for you, we’d still be sitting around trying to figure out what to do. There’s more than one way to be a hero; it’s not always running headfirst into a fight, swinging a sword. Just because you’re not the one going into the Netherworld, doesn’t mean you won’t be a hero if this works. Being a hero doesn’t always mean risking your safety; sometimes, it’s using your brain to come up with a strategy to save the day.”

Henry managed a small smile. “Thanks Mom,” he said. “I hope this works.”

“Me too kid,” Emma said as she reached out and hugged him. “Me too.”


	6. Chapter 6

David entered the loft, pausing to write a note to Snow explaining what was going on, before he made his way over to his sleeping wife. He took her hand in his and held it up to his heart, the one that they shared. “Sorry to wake you Snow, but I have to do this. If there’s any chance that this could work and bring Killian back, I have to take it. I can’t handle seeing Emma this way. She just looks so… lost and haunted without him. The last time I saw that look on her face was when Killian died and I swore to myself I would do everything I could to make sure she never looked like that again. I might not be able to do anything to break our curse but I’m going to do my best to help Emma break Killian’s. Besides,” David said, as he lowered his voice as if someone might actually hear him, “I miss him too. Never thought I’d say that,” he finished with a chuckle. Leaning down, David pressed his lips to Snow’s. As he felt the curse take effect, his last thought was of his daughter and the hopeful look on her face when he left her place.

*****

David opened his eyes to find a familiar sight; the Netherworld, his home away from home these days. He knew that he couldn’t be hurt in this realm since he wasn’t physically here but anytime he was here meant he was separated from Snow and he hated it. It didn’t help that being here forced him to live through some of his greatest regrets: everything that happened with Kathryn and Snow during the curse, how he hurt them both; taking Emma’s potential for darkness and placing it in an innocent child, separating a mother and daughter, then lying to Emma about it; and his greatest regret of all, placing Emma in the wardrobe and not being there for her when she was growing up. She’d had to go through so much on her own and it killed him that he hadn’t been there to protect her.

A flame suddenly grew higher beside him, breaking David out of his thoughts. Shaking his head, David tried to focus on the task at hand. He had to find Hook and convince him that he was in love with Emma. Looking around the room, all David could see at first were the flames. Then he noticed something in the corner; it looked like the shadow of a person standing behind the fire.

“Hook,” David shouted over the rushing sound of the flames, “is that you?”

The shadow started to move towards David, coming out from behind its hiding place. It was Hook, but with one glance David could tell it wasn’t the man he had come to know and respect. This was the dastardly Captain Hook, the one that inspired fear in the hearts of anyone who came across him. David could see it in the pirate’s confident posture, the way his hook was held ready to strike at his side, the cold look in his eyes that promised no mercy. This was the Captain Hook as David had met him for the first time.

“Who the bloody hell are you,” Hook sneered, “and how do you know my name?”

This might be harder than David had originally thought.

“My name is David Nolan,” he stated. “You don’t remember me but we’ve actually know each other for awhile now.”

Hook snorted before David could continue. “Wonderful, another person telling me I’ve had my memory removed. Let me guess, you’re here to tell me that the Evil Queen put me under a sleeping curse to hurt Henry’s mother, and that this woman is my True Love?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” David replied. He had forgotten how obnoxious Hook had been when they’d first met.

“I don’t believe you,” Hook said shortly. “I would never fall in love with another woman after Milah. And I would not give up on my revenge against the Crocodile.”

“Look,” David said in as soothing a voice he could, “I know this is a lot to take in. Trust me, I’ve been under so many memory curses that it can be hard to figure out what’s real and what’s not. But I promise you that I’m telling you the truth. You gave up on your revenge, you fell in love again! Surely that’s more worthwhile than any revenge?”

David could practically see Hook swell with anger at his words. “Nothing is more worthwhile than avenging Milah’s death,” Hook said, “and I will not rest until I do.” He turned his back on David, about to walk away.

Desperately, David shouted, “Is this the kind of man you want to be Hook? Is this the kind of man Liam would want you to be?”

Hook paused before whirling around. “How do you know about Liam?” he whispered in a hoarse voice.

“You told me about him,” David said. “We were in Neverland and I was poisoned by Dreamshade.” David saw Hook pale at his words but he continued. “You and I went to find a sextant that you said your brother had left behind. I was getting weaker but I wanted to find a way to help my family. I didn’t tell them the truth but when I said goodbye I thought it was for good. You told me I was lucky to get to say goodbye, that most people didn’t get that much. I realized that you’d lost your brother. Then you told me that I would’ve liked him, that he could be a ‘stubborn arse’ like me.”

“Sounds like something I’d say,” Hook admitted. “But if you were poisoned with Dreamshade, how’d you survive?”

“You saved me,” David said simply, causing Hook to raise his eyebrows. “You lied about the sextant, you only told me that to get me to Deadman’s Peak where the enchanted water was. You told me if I drank it I could never leave the island but it was worth it at the time.”

“How’d you leave the island then? You should have dropped dead as soon as you left.”

“Rumpelstiltskin came up with a cure for me. We took some water with us when we left the island and he worked on a cure when we got home.”

“The Crocodile, huh?” Hook snarled. “And what price did you have to pay to get it?”

“Nothing. His son convinced him to do it for free.” At the mention of Neal, David could see Hook’s features soften.

“Baelfire,” he said quietly. “He always was a better person than his father.”

David said nothing. While he would never forgive Neal for what he’d done to his daughter, he knew that he and Hook had been close once and didn’t want to tarnish the other man’s memories.

Hook shook his head before speaking again. “Look, maybe we have met before and I don’t remember it.  I can’t think of another way that you’d know about Liam, since very few people do. But that doesn’t mean I’d fall in love with someone else.”

David felt his heart drop; Hook wasn’t willing to believe he’d found love again. How could David convince him?

“Please, you have to remember Emma,” David pleaded. “My daughter is miserable without you.”

“Emma,” Hook said slowly, his eyes glazing over for a second. Was he remembering? But then he shook his head and looked at David. “Wait, your daughter? How the bloody hell is that possible? She’d have to be close to your age to have a child Henry’s age.”

“It’s complicated,” David sighed. “Let’s just say that there have been a lot of curses involved.”

Hook nodded before saying, “Look mate, I’m sorry but I’ve spent 300 years trying to avenge Milah. I wouldn’t throw that away. I can’t help you.” And with that, he turned and walked away.

“Wait!” David shouted after him. But when he tried to follow, a tower of flames shot up, blocking his path.

Well, he could add another regret to his list to stew on; he wasn’t able to bring back his daughter’s True Love.

*****

Emma sat in her office, trying to get some paperwork done but wasn’t having much luck. She had gone into work hoping it would distract her from everything going on but it had been an unusually quiet day in Storybrooke. Emma had been hoping for the Evil Queen to stir up some trouble; it would have felt so good to go after her and take out her frustrations. Instead, she’d been left alone with her thoughts and it wasn’t doing her any good. What if this plan didn’t work? What if David couldn’t convince Killian that he had found love again?

The sound of the door opening broke Emma out of her depressing thoughts and she looked up. She managed a small smile as her mother came into the office. “Hey Mom, what are you doing here?”

“I stopped by to check on you,” Snow said, walking over to give Emma a hug. “Just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

Emma shrugged as she pulled back. “As good as can be expected, I guess.”

Snow nodded sympathetically. “Oh Emma, I know this is hard sweetie. But we will get through this. The Evil Queen hasn’t defeated us before, and she won’t defeat us now.”

“I know Mom, it’s just hard right now to have much hope. And I don’t know if Killian will believe what Dad tries to tell him.”

“Well,” Snow said slowly, “maybe he won’t believe David, but he might believe it if someone else tells him the same thing.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“I mean that when I wake your father, that I’m going to try to find Hook and convince him.”

Emma felt her chest tighten with emotion. “But Mom, you hate the Netherworld.”

“I do,” Snow agreed. “But I hate seeing you in pain more and I will do whatever I can to end it.”

Emma felt tears well up in her eyes as she reached out and hugged Snow. “Thanks Mom,” she managed to choke out.

“Anytime sweetie,” Snow murmured. “Now,” she said as she pulled back and brushed away the few tears that had managed to escape off Emma’s cheeks, “how about we pick up some dinner from Granny’s and then I’ll go wake your father.”

Emma nodded her head as she managed a watery smile. “That sounds great.”

Snow smiled as she stepped out, giving Emma a minute to compose herself. Taking a deep breath, Emma wiped away her tears and reached for her leather jacket. She might not have her True Love at the moment, but she had the support of her family and that meant more than they could possibly imagine. Now, Emma just had to get her pirate back and she could fight to have that happy ending she’d always wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed a bit of dialogue from episode 6x14, when Snow and Killian talked at the docks, because I loved that scene so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Emma, Regina and Henry had just finished cleaning the kitchen after dinner; Snow and Emma had picked up dinner from Granny’s on the way home and Regina and Henry had joined them. It had been a more subdued affair than usual, the four of them aware of the two empty chairs where David and Killian usually sat when they all got together. Conversation had been limited to how everyone’s day had been, with few laughs in between and if a laugh did escape from someone’s mouth, it sounded forced and was quickly stifled. No one mentioned curses or the Evil Queen, researching in the library on how to break the curses placed upon their loved ones, or how much they just missed being all together as a family. If the Queen’s plan had been trying to tear the family apart, to rip away hope of a happy ending, she was going about it the right way. As soon as dinner had been over, Snow had gone home to wake David and have her chance to talk to Killian.

“Can I go watch T.V.?” Henry asked as soon as the last plate was cleared. His two mothers shared a look before nodding their heads. Not needing to be told twice, Henry took off to the living room.

“Do you want some coffee?” Emma questioned.

“That would be great, if you don’t mind,” Regina said appreciatively. Emma went about getting a pot ready, grabbing sugar and milk while Regina got two cups from the cupboard. Once the coffee was ready, Emma poured them each a mug, taking a seat at the table before pouring some milk in and dumping in some sugar.

“How do you stand taking it that sweet?” Regina asked with her nose wrinkled up. She had reached for her own cup and took a sip without adding anything to it.

Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess when I first started drinking coffee, I found it too bitter, so I added stuff to make it sweeter. I’ve had it that way ever since.” Emma wrapped her hands around her mug, letting the warmth seep into her hands. She hesitated before saying, “Regina, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Regina said with a concerned look on her face. “What is it?”

Emma took a deep breath; this had been in the back of her mind since hearing why the Evil Queen had cursed Killian and she wanted to know the truth. “The Evil Queen said she blamed me for Robin’s death. Do you feel the same way?”

“No, of course not!” Regina exclaimed. “Why would you think that?”

“Well,” Emma said slowly, “she _is_ a part of you; I just wanted to know if you felt the same way as her.”

Regina looked at Emma for a long moment before sighing. “I don’t blame you for Robin’s death. We volunteered to go to the Underworld and it was Hades that killed him. But…” Regina trailed off before adding, “I’ll admit, when I saw Hook walk into the diner at Robin’s funeral, I thought it was unfair that he was brought back from the dead and Robin wasn’t. And maybe there was a small part of me that wished I had sent Robin back to Storybrooke when I had the chance. But that doesn’t guarantee things would have played out differently. Hades probably still would have come to town and tried to kill me with the crystal. And Robin still would have sacrificed himself for me.” Regina took a deep breath, tears glittering in her eyes before continuing. “I don’t think we could have done anything different, so no, I don’t blame you Emma.”

“But why does the Evil Queen blame me?”

“It’s possible that when I separated myself from her that she took those negative feelings I had and they were amplified. She is my worst parts, after all; she’d want someone to blame for her pain rather than acknowledging that sometimes bad things happen for no reason.”

Emma nodded her head, feeling a sense of relief. She had felt awful thinking that her friend blamed her for her soul mate’s death.

“Can I ask you something now?” Regina said.

“Sure, what’s up?” Emma replied, curious to know what Regina wanted to ask.

“Why did you agree with your mother about separating the Evil Queen from me? When you found out your parents removed your potential for darkness and transferred it to Lily, you were furious. So why did you agree to separate my darkness from me?”

Emma hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to Regina but she wasn’t sure how she would react either. Emma decided to tell her the truth; it wasn’t worth keeping secrets. “Well, to be honest, at first I thought it was a terrible idea. You’ve come a long way since we first met and I thought you were capable of controlling your darkness.” Regina opened her mouth but Emma help up her hand to stop her. “I know I didn’t act like it when you first found out about Killian by trying to have you sit out but I did believe in you. I just… wasn’t sure how’d you react when you were in pain. You have to admit, you don’t have the best track record.”

“Fair enough,” Regina conceded. “So what changed your mind?”

Emma took a deep breath. “I thought about that moment in Robin’s apartment when you told me you wanted to rip out Killian’s throat when you saw him alive. I was terrified; I had just got him back and to hear you saying you wanted to kill him, even if you didn’t act on it, scared me. I didn’t want to lose him again. So I thought, maybe if your darkness was removed, that you wouldn’t be tempted to act on that impulse, even if it was a small chance. It was selfish of me but I wasn’t willing to lose him.”

Regina stared at Emma, a look of shock on her face. Emma felt her nerves rise; she couldn’t figure out how Regina was feeling. “Are you mad?” she said quietly.

Shaking her head, Regina said, “No, I’m not mad. I’m just thinking…”

Emma waited patiently for Regina to finish her thought.

“I didn’t realize what I said scared you so much.” Regina finally said. “I wasn’t thinking about how you felt or what my words would sound like to you. I was only thinking about the pain I was in.”

“It’s okay…” Emma started but Regina shook her head.

“No, it’s not Emma. I was being selfish. Yes, I had just lost Robin, but you went to Hell and back, literally, to try to save Killian and thought you had lost him forever. And then you had to leave him behind while we went after Henry. I should have thought about your pain too, not just mine.”

“I get it,” Emma said gently. “I mean, I did become the Dark One to save Killian from dying. If I had really lost him forever, I can’t imagine what I would have done.”

“You would have done what you always do,” Regina said. “You would have been selfless and thought of others before yourself.” Regina looked down at the cup in her hands before looking back up and meeting Emma’s eyes. “You know what I wish?”

“What?” Emma asked.

“I wish I had never separated the Evil Queen from myself,” Regina said. “I should have been stronger, should have fought harder to control my dark side. But instead, I tried to take the easy way out and get rid of my darkness altogether.  And look where it got us. The Evil Queen has cursed your parents and Hook. There’s been so much pain since I separated from her and it’s all my fault.”

“No, it’s not your fault Regina,” Emma protested.

“But it is,” Regina insisted. “If I had just kept my darkness, accepted that the Evil Queen was a part of me, then none of this would be happening.”

Emma couldn’t think of how to reply but she was saved from doing so when the front door opened. Both women looked to see David enter the kitchen. Emma could tell by looking at him that he didn’t have good news.

“I’m sorry Emma,” David said in a subdued voice, “but I couldn’t make him remember.”

Emma felt a twinge of disappointment before saying, “It’s okay Dad. I would have been surprised if we could get him to remember that quickly.”

David had made his way over towards his daughter and gripped her shoulder before murmuring, “Hopefully you’ll mother will have better luck than me.”

“Well, if anyone can make Hook believe in True Love, it would be Snow White,” Regina said. “No one gives a better hope speech than her.”

*****

Snow looked around at the flames leaping high above her, sparks trailing in their wake. She’d had entirely enough of this place over the past few weeks; unfortunately it didn’t look like she’d find a way to escape it anytime soon. At least she had a mission now, something to take her mind off the regrets she could feel trying to fill her mind ( _missing out on Emma’s childhood, not being able to protect her daughter from the pain of growing up, not being able to protect her kingdom from the Evil Queen’s wrath_ ). Snow took a deep breath to remove these thoughts as she focused on finding Killian. And suddenly, there he was. “Killian,” she said.

She wasn’t sure how he’d heard her over the roar of the fire but he turned his head towards her nonetheless. Looking at him now, she could see the man he used to be standing before her; the cocky, arrogant, obnoxious pirate who she hadn’t wanted anywhere near her family. He’d come a long way since then, Snow mused. She hoped she’d be able to see the man he’d become again.

“Well, milady, it seems as if you’ve heard of me, so I’m at a disadvantage,” Killian said in his most charming voice. “Just who might you be?”

Snow smirked and shook her head at his antics. “I’m Snow White.”

She saw the look of shock on his face pass quickly before he settled on a smirk. “The very same Snow White that the Evil Queen wants to destroy?”

“That would be me. Although, we’ve moved on past that. We’re actually quite close now; we’re family.” She could see Killian giving her a confused look but before he could ask anything she said, “Look, that doesn’t matter right now. I’m here because you’ve been cursed and I’m trying to help break it. I know you’ve already met my husband and grandson, so you know how you ended up under the sleeping curse.”

She could see realization dawn on his face. “You’re Emma’s mother,” he said sourly. “And you’re here to convince me that I’m in love with her.”

“I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true,” Snow said in a beseeching voice. “You and Emma, you’re both so similar. You had similar childhoods. You both closed your heart to love to keep out the pain but you kept out happiness too. You both felt you were unworthy of love but you made the other feel worth it. And you both love with all your hearts. You just, _understand_ each other. You were good for her,” Snow finished, meeting his gaze head on.

“Funny, I wouldn’t think royalty would want their daughter with a pirate,” Killian said dryly.

Snow chuckled. “Well, to be honest, we didn’t at first,” she admitted. “I wanted Emma to be with Henry’s father, because he was her first love and I thought that meant they were True Love. And David, he kind of hated your guts at first.”

“I find that more believable than the two of you wanting me to be with your daughter,” Killian said. “So what changed your mind?”

“You did,” Snow said simply, seeing an incredulous look on Killian’s face. “You showed us that you could be an honorable man. Even when Emma tried to push you away, you were patient with her; you didn’t push her but you let her know you were there for her. And when she finally let you in, you stayed by her side. That’s all I ever wanted for my daughter, for her to find someone who’d be there for her. And I’m happy it was you.”

“But I’m a villain,” Killian said. “How could you be happy that your daughter was with someone like me?”

“You’ve had a dark past,” Snow acknowledged, “but you’ve changed. All that matters to us is what kind of man you are now and you’ve become a good man, Killian. You may not believe it’s possible, but I’m telling you it is.”

Killian stared at her for a moment, warring with himself. “The tale you tell sounds wonderful, milady,” Killian finally said, “but I’m afraid I don’t believe it. I just don’t think I’m capable of that kind of change.”

“But you are Killian,” Snow insisted. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that love can save even the darkest of souls. If you want to be the man I know you are, you have to believe me!”

But she could tell it was no good; Killian was already shaking his head. “I’m sorry, lass, but I’m not that man.” With that, he turned away. Snow tried to follow but a wall of flame suddenly leaping up prevented her. She could only watch as he walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

Emma, Snow, Regina, and Henry sat around the table in the loft, all of them wearing the same dejected look. On their way to drop Henry at school, Emma and Regina had stopped by the loft to see how Snow had gotten along in the Netherworld. Emma had been so sure that her mother, with her hope speeches and her optimism, would be able to convince Killian that he’d found True Love again; to hear that she hadn’t had any luck had been a blow. Now, they were trying to determine what the next step would be.

“Your father and I can keep going back, Emma,” Snow said gently. “We’re still under our sleeping curse, we both go to the Netherworld when we fall asleep. If we keep trying, maybe we can convince him.”

“But what if you can’t?” Emma burst out, frustration lacing her voice. “Killian’s stubborn and if he doesn’t want to believe you, no amount of convincing will make him believe. He needs to believe he can change and right now he doesn’t. He’s convinced he’s still a villain and he can’t fathom giving up on his revenge. I just…” Emma trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Emma,” Snow said, reaching out to take her daughter’s hand, “don’t give up hope. We’ve just started; we knew it wouldn’t be easy to break this curse. Yes, it would be nice to have made some progress but all we can do is keep trying.”

Emma sighed, knowing her mother was right. It was just so hard not having Killian by her side; she’d become so used to having his steady presence nearby, always offering her encouragement and support. Killian had been one of the few people who could make her hands stop shaking and stop her visions of her death. Last night she’d woken up from a vision, gasping for breath and in a cold sweat, automatically turning to clutch at Killian but he hadn’t been there. The longer he was under this curse, the more afraid Emma was that they’d never break it.

There was a knock at the loft door and Belle entered. She seemed surprised to see everyone gathered around the table but all she said was, “Morning everyone.”

“Oh, morning Belle,” Snow said. “I am so sorry, I lost track of time! Let me just gather a few things for Neal.” Snow stood up and started gathering the essentials.

Emma looked over at Belle. “You’re taking Neal for the day?”

“Yeah,” Belle replied, “I told Snow and Granny I didn’t mind taking him anytime they needed a hand, I love looking after him. Besides, it’ll be good practice for the future.” Belle placed her hand on her still flat stomach as she said this, a dreamy look coming over her face. Emma managed a small smile; she knew Belle would be an amazing mother.

“Any luck breaking Killian’s curse?” Belle asked as Snow came over carrying Neal and his bag.

“Not yet,” Snow sighed. “David and I have been going to the Netherworld to try to convince him that he loves Emma but we haven’t had much success yet.”

“You’ve been going to the Netherworld?” Belle asked.

“Yeah, we thought if we could make him remember why he loves Mom that True Love’s kiss might work,” Henry explained.

“Oh, that’s clever!” Belle said, making Henry beam with pride. “Maybe I could try talking to him? I’ve been under a sleeping curse so I should be able to go to the Netherworld.”

“I’m not sure that’s a great idea,” Emma cautioned.

“Why not?”

“Because right now, the last memory he has of you is breaking into my dungeon to get you to tell him where Rumple’s dagger is, then trying to kill you when you wouldn’t help him,” Regina said. “I doubt he’d listen to you.”

“Isn’t it worth a try though? The more people trying to convince him, the better,” Belle argued.

Emma sighed. “Belle, I really appreciate the offer, but I think Regina’s right. Killian thinks you’re connected to Rumple, he won’t be willing to listen. Besides, you’ve got enough going on right now.”

Belle looked at them for a moment before nodding her head. “All right, it was just a thought. But promise you’ll let me know if you need anything?”

“We will,” Emma said sincerely. “Thank you Belle.”

Belle gave her a small smile before looking at Neal. “How about we go to the library and find some good books to read,” she said brightly, rocking Neal gently as she did.

Emma smiled as the two of them left the loft but the smile slid off her face as the door shut. Turning back to the others, she saw the time. “Henry, you should probably get to school and the rest of us should get to work. We can get together again tonight.” The others nodded as they gathered their things, the four of them exiting the loft.

*****

Belle looked around the red room she was in, feeling a bit guilty. It wasn’t that she intentionally tried to go to the Netherworld when she fell asleep; it was something she couldn’t control. But while she was here, she was determined to find Killian and talk to him. She knew the others thought it was a bad idea but Killian was her friend and she wanted to help. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure. “Killian,” she cried out, making her way towards him.

He turned as she approached him. “You,” he said. “You’re the woman from Regina’s dungeon. The one that wouldn’t tell me where the Crocodile’s dagger was.” Killian’s lips were curled into a sneer as he finished his statement.

Belle sighed. “Well, if you recall, I didn’t know anything about the dagger. Rumple’s protective of it, as I’m sure you can imagine. Besides, I wasn’t going to help you kill someone, no matter how much you felt they deserved it.”

“Killing the Dark One would be doing everyone a favor,” Killian snapped, his eyes flashing. “That demon causes nothing but pain to everyone around him.”

Belle took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Look, I’m not here to argue with you Killian. Yes we’ve had a rocky past but we’ve actually become friends recently. I’m here to help you.”

His eyebrows rose at that statement. “Friends,” he echoed disbelievingly. “You became friends with someone who once tried to kill you?”

“Actually, it was twice,” Belle corrected. “You tried to kill me a second time.”

All Killian did was stare at her for a moment. “Why the bloody hell would you become friends with someone who tried to kill you?”

Belle took a moment to gather her thoughts. “You changed,” she started. “You became a better man. But we didn’t become friends right away. It wasn’t until I saved you from Rumple that we did.”

“You saved me? Why?” Killian asked in a confused voice.

Belle closed her eyes for a moment, the pain of discovering Rumple’s deception coming back. “Rumple had been lying to me. He told me he gave me his dagger but he had actually given me a fake one. I found out he was going to use your heart to separate him from the dagger’s control, so I found the real dagger and made him stop. Before that, he had trapped the fairies as well to do the spell, so I was looking for a way to get them out. You felt guilty that they were trapped, because Rumple made you trap them when he had your heart, so you offered to help. It was then I saw how much you had changed. Plus,” she said with a small smile, “we found out we had similar tastes in reading material and there weren’t too many people in Storybrooke who enjoyed the same books as I did. So, yeah, we became friends.”

Killian continued to stare at her as he took in what she said. “I became friends with someone I tried to kill,” he finally said.

“Yes,” Belle said firmly. “Look, I know Snow and David have been trying to convince you that you’ve fallen in love again, and you did. But I know that you don’t believe you would have changed. If me, a woman you’ve tried to kill in the past, is telling you that you’ve changed, then you have to believe it.”

Killian sighed before saying, “Alright, you make a convincing point lass. You wouldn’t have any reason to try to convince me unless we really did become friends. But…” he trailed off as he struggled to finish his thought. “I just can’t believe that I would fall in love again after Milah. Snow tried to tell me how we were perfect for each other but I don’t know this woman, this Emma. How can I believe that I would fall in love with her if I don’t know her?”

Belle felt her heart plummet. How could she convince him? Before she could come up with something to say, she felt a tugging sensation. Realizing she was waking up, Belle said, “Try to believe Killian, please!” The last thing she saw was Killian looking at her, a downcast expression on her face.

*****

Emma sat at the kitchen table, early morning sunlight filtering through the window and filling the room with a warm glow. It was a complete contrast to Emma’s mood; Henry had been at Regina’s last night and the loneliness had put Emma in a terrible mood. Add in sleep deprivation from the constant nightmares the past couple nights and Emma was just hoping to make it through the day without a breakdown.

A knock at the door broke Emma out of her reverie, her brow furrowing in confusion. Who would be here this early? Rising out of her chair, she made her way to the front door, opening it to find Belle standing on the other side.

“Hi Emma,” Belle said tentatively. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Emma said as she stepped aside to allow the other woman in. Belle made her way towards the kitchen, her heels clicking and clacking on the floor, echoing in the silence. “What brings you here so early?”

Belle hesitated, looking at the floor as she gathered her thoughts, before meeting Emma’s gaze. “Last night, I went to the Netherworld and I saw Killian.”

Emma drew in a quick breath. “You did? How was he?”

“When he first saw me, he wasn’t happy. To him, I’m the woman that wouldn’t help him kill Rumple. But I told him how we became friends and he couldn’t find a reason to doubt me; he figured I had nothing to gain by telling him we were friends if we weren’t. But…”

“But what?” Emma asked, the tone in Belle’s voice making her nervous.

Belle took a deep breath before saying, “I might have convinced him he can change but I couldn’t convince him that he fell in love again. To be honest Emma, I don’t think anyone will be able to. He said that he doesn’t believe he could fall in love with someone if he doesn’t know them. I’m sorry,” she finished with a whisper.

Emma closed her eyes for a moment, pain settling over her. She’d had a feeling this might happen but to hear Belle say it out loud, that Killian didn’t believe he could fall in love again, hurt. Their whole plan relied on him believing that; if he couldn’t believe, than Emma would never be able to wake him. She opened her eyes again to see Belle looking at, compassion in her eyes. “Thanks for trying Belle.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help,” Belle said. “But I’ll keep looking in the library, see if I can find something. Don’t give up hope Emma.”

Emma tried to give Belle a smile as she left but as soon as the door closed behind her, Emma felt the tears in her eyes. Everyone had spoken to Killian, yet no one had been able to convince him that he’d fallen in love again. It seemed like the only way Killian would believe it was for him to meet Emma in person and that was impossible.

Emma tilted her head suddenly, an idea forming. Maybe there was a way for her to see Killian herself and convince him that he loved her. It was a risky idea but if it brought Killian back, it was worth it. Feeling a sense of determination, Emma called her mother and Regina, asking both of them to meet her at the house as soon as possible. After hanging up the phone, she headed upstairs to the guest bedroom where Killian currently was. Sitting down beside him and taking his hand in hers and holding it to her cheek, Emma whispered, “Hang on Killian. If this works, I’ll see you soon.” Turning her head, Emma kissed the palm of his hand before gently setting it back down on the bed beside him, standing up and leaving the room as she prepared to go save her True Love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first started this story, I actually didn't plan on having Belle go to the Netherworld. But as I was writing, I remembered that she has been under a sleeping curse and started thinking how if Belle told him he'd changed that he'd have to believe her, which basically inspired their entire conversation (plus I love their friendship!). Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

Emma took a deep breath as she faced Snow, Henry, and Regina, the three of them looking at her expectantly. They had arrived quickly after Emma had called them and told them she had a new plan but needed their help. Emma wasn’t sure how they were going to react to it; she thought Henry would be on board with it but she wasn’t so sure about her mother and Regina. She hoped they would support her, especially Regina since Emma was going to need her help to pull it off.

“Well, what’s your plan?” Snow asked.

“It was something that Belle said to me today,” Emma explained. “She was in the Netherworld and saw Killian, and he told her that he didn’t think he could fall in love with someone he didn’t know.”

“Yeah, that’s why he’s still under the curse,” Regina said. “What’s your point?”

Emma took another breath. “My point is, nothing any of you say is going to convince Killian that he loves me. But if he were to actually meet me, it might make him believe. Any time we’ve met for the first time, whether it was in the Enchanted Forest, New York, the past, or Isaac’s alternate story, there’s always been an instant connection between us. If I can meet him and talk to him, he might feel that. So, I’m going to go to the Netherworld myself and talk to him.”

“But how are you going to do that?” Snow said in a confused voice. “The only way to travel to the Netherworld is if you’ve been under a sleeping curse and you’ve never been under one Emma.”

Emma saw it in Regina’s face the second she clued in. “Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of doing what I think you are,” she said.

“Yes, I am,” Emma replied firmly. “Regina, you’re going to put me under a sleeping curse. I’ll go to the Netherworld, find Killian, and convince him that he loves me.”

“Oh no, I’m not!” Regina exclaimed. “This is idiotic! What if you get stuck there? Did you figure out a way to be woken from this sleeping curse?”

“Henry can wake me,” Emma turned to her son with a smile. “It wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve broken a curse.”

“Emma, honey, you’ve never been under a sleeping curse before, and it’s harder to be under one than you might think,” Snow said gently. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, I’m sure! Mom, you’re the one always telling me to have hope,” Emma said pleadingly as she turned towards her mother. “I really think this might be the only way to wake Killian. So please, believe in me and let me do this.”

Snow looked at her daughter before reaching out and hugging her. “Oh Emma,” she whispered, “I will always believe in you.” Pulling back, Snow looked over at Regina. “We’re doing this. It might be crazy, but we’re doing this.”

Emma could see that Regina was still unconvinced. “Look Regina, I could really use your help with this; you have experience making a sleeping curse, so it would be a lot easier with you. But even if you don’t help, I’ll find a way, even if I have to make the curse myself.”

Regina sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’ll do it, since there’s no stopping you anyway. I’ll go to my vault and prepare it. It should be ready in a couple hours, so we’ll do it later today.”

Emma smiled as she said, “Thank you Regina. I really appreciate this.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Regina cautioned, “let’s make sure your plan works first.” The mayor turned to leave, muttering, “I never thought I’d see the day when someone actually _wanted_ to go under a sleeping curse,” as she left.

Emma turned toward her mother and son. “All right then, I guess I should go to work to kill some time. Henry, you need to get to school.”

Henry nodded before giving Emma a determined look. “This will work Mom,” he said excitedly. “Once Killian meets you, how could he not fall in love with you?”

Emma smiled, reaching out to hug her son as she said, “I hope you’re right kid.”

“He is,” Snow stated. “True Love is the most powerful magic of all. He might not remember you but Killian will still sense something special about you.”

With one arm around Henry’s shoulders, Emma reached out to take her mother’s hand in her own, giving it a quick squeeze. Having her family’s support meant the world to her. Now, she just had to hope that this would work.

*****

“All right,” Regina said as she placed the tip of a spinning needle into the bottle containing the sleeping curse, “this is ready. You could digest it but taking a sleeping curse directly through the bloodstream is the best way.”

Emma nodded as she sat on the bed beside Killian, leaning back against the pillows. “Got it.”

“Now remember,” Snow said, “since this is your first time going under, you probably won’t be in the red room. You’ll have to find your way there, like Killian did.”

“Okay,” Emma said, wishing they’d just hurry up. Now that she was about to go under, she was nervous. She’d heard both of her parents talk about being under a sleeping curse before, how they were forced to relive some of their worst regrets, no escape from their thoughts. Emma had plenty of regrets in her life and wasn’t looking forward to going through them again. Taking a deep breath, she looked over at Killian, reaching out to take his hand in hers. He was why she was going through this; she needed to remember that.

“Good luck Mom,” Henry said as he hugged her. “You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks kid,” Emma said as she hugged him back. Still holding Killian’s hand in hers, she turned to Regina. “All right, let’s do this.”

Regina nodded as she took a step closer, holding out the needle. Emma started to reach out her hand, than chuckled as a thought hit her.

“What are you laughing about?” Regina asked.

“Just thinking... When I first got here, you wanted nothing more than to curse me. Is this how you thought it would go?”

Regina managed a smile. “It is ironic, isn’t it? Now, are you ready?”

Emma took a deep breath before reaching out her hand, pricking her finger on the needle. Instantly, she fell asleep, her head falling onto her pirate’s shoulder, her hand falling onto his chest.

*****

Emma opened her eyes to find herself in an all black room; black floor, black walls, even black on the ceiling. The only light source came from a torch on the wall, the flames causing shadows to dance around the room. Striding over, Emma pulled the torch from its bracket, turning to see what else was there. Gasping, she saw that it wasn’t black walls but mirrors; mirrors lined the entire surface of the room, reflecting herself back over and over. Looking around, Emma tried to remember what her parents had told her about getting to the red room.

Suddenly, Emma thought she heard a crying baby. Raising her torch higher to light more of the room, she called out, “Hello? Is anyone there?”

The crying only grew louder, nearly turning into a wail. Emma felt her heart thumping; where was the baby? She wanted to help but what could she do?

 _You could have kept him_ , whispered a voice in her head. _You could have raised him yourself instead of putting him into the system. But instead, you let him grow up alone, just like you did. What kind of mother does that to her own child?_

Emma felt tears in her eyes, realizing why those cries were tugging at her heartstrings so much. It sounded exactly like Henry did when he was born, when she gave him up. She’d had nightmares so many times about it, she knew exactly what it sounded like. His cries had haunted her for so long after she put him up for adoption, always wondering if she’d made the right choice, if she should have tried to raise him instead of giving him up. She knew there was a chance he’d end up in the foster system like she had but she’d still let him go. It was something she’d always regret.

 _Regret_. That was it; being in a sleeping curse forced you to relive your regrets, like giving up Henry. Emma closed her eyes, willing herself to focus. She would always regret giving up Henry but she couldn’t change the past; she had to focus on the task at hand.

Before she could look for a way into the red room though, she heard something else, more voices whispering taunting thoughts in her ear.

“ _No, please, you have to let me go,”_ Killian’s voice came through to her, every word a struggle. “ _I don’t want to pay this price, I don’t want to become that.”_

Their entire conversation from the field of middlemists, him pleading with her to let him go and not turn him into a Dark One, her ignoring him and going against his wishes, ran through her head. Emma had been so desperate to not lose him that she’d turned him into the thing he hated most, the Darkness that had taken so much from him. How could she have done that to him?

 _You were selfish,_ whispered a mean little voice in her head. _All you cared about was keeping him alive, never mind the consequences. And what did it get you? Your entire family was almost killed and you lost him anyway. You should have let him die in that field._

“No,” Emma whispered as her dark thoughts started to consume her. Curling her hand into a fist, she raised it up, holding it tight to her chest, trying to keep the pain in her heart under control. As she did, she felt the brush of cool metal against her fingertips. Grabbing onto it like a lifeline, she lifted it up to look at it.

It was the ring Killian had given her in Camelot, the one that had belonged to Liam. Staring at it, she remembered the moment he gave it to her, how she had been so happy thinking that she was almost rid of the darkness and how, while he might not have been proposing, the ring had seemed like a promise of the future to her, a future they could now have.

“No,” Emma said louder, “I might regret not listening to Killian but I can’t regret what I did to save his life. If I had to do it over again, I would. I’ll do anything to save him, including breaking this curse.” Emma held the ring tighter in her grip, trying to focus on Killian. As she did, the voices in her head faded away.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Emma returned to the task at hand; finding a way into the red room. Looking around the room, she remembered what her father had told her; that the red room had been beneath the first room he entered. Emma started to walk, listening for a spot that sounded hollow, pausing every few seconds to tap her foot on one spot to test it. As made her way to the center of the room, testing the floor every few feet, she paused. Listening closely, holding her breath while she did, Emma tapped her foot again, sensing that the floor wasn’t as thick here. “Bingo,” she whispered under her breath. But how to break it? She doubted she could break it with her bare hands and she hadn’t brought anything with her but what she was wearing.

What she was wearing… maybe that was it. Looking down, Emma eyed the heel on her boot, trying to gauge if it would be able to break the floor. Deciding she had nothing to lose, she raised her leg and stomped her heel as hard as she could.

 _Crack_. It had worked! Emma could see a web of fractures where her heel had made impact, the veins spreading out across the floor. If she stomped on the same spot a few more times, she figured it would be enough to break through. Saying a quick thank you that she had chosen these particular boots this morning, Emma stomped her foot over and over, hearing a satisfying cracking sound each time. Suddenly, the sound of smashing glass filled the room and Emma felt herself falling. Letting out a little scream, she closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.

“Oomph,” grunted a voice as Emma fell onto something warm but still solid. Before she could fathom what was going on, whatever she had fallen into collapsed to the floor, taking her with it. It cushioned her fall as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, steadying her, as she felt another heart beating in time with her own. Something about this position felt awfully familiar… and now that she thought of it, that voice had sounded familiar as well. Opening her eyes, Emma found herself staring into blue orbs that she would know anywhere.

“Well, hello there love,” Killian said with a smirk from beneath her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who guessed Emma would go under a sleeping curse, congrats, you were right! Also, I know in the show that Snow and Charming couldn't physically touch in the Netherworld but I had that idea for Emma and Killian finding each other there and I loved it too much to let it go :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating, this week has been crazy busy for me! This chapter is a bit longer than the others but I don't think you'll mind :)

Emma felt her heart stop as she stared into Killian’s eyes, then kick into overdrive. She’d found him! Emma couldn’t tear her eyes from him, drinking in every detail. Although it had only been a few days since she last spoke to him, it felt like a lifetime. It was taking all of her will power to not kiss him right now but she knew she couldn’t; it would only scare him off and she might never convince him of the truth. Looking down at him, Emma realized he was staring at her, that smirk still on his face and she felt herself blush.

“Well love,” Killian said in his most flirtatious voice, “as much as I enjoy this _position_ that we’re in” (for the love of God, how could one man put so much innuendo into one word?) “this floor is rather uncomfortable. Any chance you could allow me up?”

Emma nodded mutely, quickly getting to her feet and taking a step back to let him stand. As soon as Killian was standing though, he took a step closer, until their chests were almost touching. Good to know his lack of personal space was still intact.

“Now love, where are my manners?” he continued in that flirtatious tone, “allow me to introduce myself. Killian Jones, at your service.” He finished this announcement with a little bow, spreading his hands out wide. Emma smirked a little bit, shaking her head at him. Some things never changed. “And you are?” he questioned.  Seeing him eyeing her up, she took a deep breath. Her family had told him her name, so as soon as he heard it he’d know who she was and why she was here. Emma only hoped he wouldn’t put his walls up and shut her out.

“Swan. Emma Swan.” As soon as she said it, the smirk dropped off his face and he took a step back. Well, so much for him not putting his walls up. “Look, before you shut me out, just hear me out, okay? I know you didn’t believe my family when they told you that you’d found love again. And to be honest, I don’t blame you. You spent 300 years trying to avenge Milah’s death, to kill the Dark One, and to find out you gave that all up is a lot to take in. I guess I was just hoping that maybe if you met me it would, I don’t know, jog your memory or something.”

Killian was staring at her, his eyes slightly hostile, his expression closed off. “I already told your family love, I don’t believe I would fall in love again. Milah was the love of my life and I wouldn’t give up on my revenge. Besides, how do I know for sure that I really do know you?”

Emma sighed, trying to think of a way to convince him. Suddenly, it came to her; she knew Killian better than anyone and he had told her of some painful memories from his past, memories he wouldn’t have told an acquaintance. He’d have to believe he knew her. “Okay, let’s see. You have a tattoo on your right forearm of the Dark One’s dagger piercing a heart, with Milah’s name on it. Your father abandoned you when you were a young boy, selling you and your brother Liam into slavery. When you came across your father later in life, he had had another son and named him Liam. You killed your father because the Evil Queen told you to, leaving your half brother an orphan in the process.” Killian’s eyes had gone downcast with each sad tale she reminded him of, his mouth turning down at the corners. The expression on his face broke her heart but there was still one more story, probably the saddest of all for him. Emma took a deep breath, hating herself as she said gently, “Your brother Liam died of Dreamshade poisoning when you went to Neverland, on the orders of a corrupt king. It’s what made you become a pirate.”

Killian opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking overwhelmed. “Well,” he finally said, clearing his throat, “I suppose you do know me love. Those are tales I try not to tell too often.’

“I know,” Emma said sympathetically. “I’m sorry I had to make you relive those but I knew you wouldn’t tell them to just anybody.”

“And how would you know that?” he inquired, staring at her curiously.

“Because, those are some of your most painful memories. You would only tell them to someone that you cared about, and who cared about you in return.” Emma thought back to some of those moments, each of them sharing their personal tragedies, the reasons why they were so closed off in the first place. Emma remembered shedding a few tears at the more painful ones, Killian holding her close and kissing her tears away as they slid down her cheeks.

Killian gave her a sympathetic look. “Sounds like you have experience in the matter.”

“Yeah, I do,” she said quietly. “I closed my heart to love for a long time because it burned me in the past. You helped me open it back up though. You were always so patient with me, understanding my misgivings, because you’d been burned too. Separate, we were two broken people, but together, we helped heal the broken parts and made each other whole.”

Killian continued to stare at her, although he didn’t look quite as closed off as he did when she first revealed her name. It looked like he was studying her, considering what she said. “To be honest love, I’ll admit there is something about you that is familiar.  I… I can’t really describe it but perhaps it is possible that I know you from somewhere.”

Emma felt her heart soar at his words. She had been right with her instincts; he did feel that connection that was always present between them.  Maybe she would be able to convince him of the truth. She gave him a small smile as she said, “I’m glad. I mean, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with this but I’m glad there’s some recognition.”

His brow furrowed together in confusion. “What do you mean, this isn’t the first time? Have we had to deal with a sleeping curse before?”

Emma shook her head at him, saying quickly, “No, no. Sorry, I meant this wasn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with memory loss. We’ve both been afflicted with it in the past. But even though one of us didn’t have any memory of the other, there was always some kind of spark, a connection between us. It’s what made me trust you when you found me in New York and convinced me to take a memory potion. And when the Author wrote us into a new story where you didn’t have your memories, you still helped me, even though you couldn’t remember me.”

Killian raised his eyebrows at her. “Sounds like we’ve had quite the tale, love.”

“We have,” she said simply, thinking of all the big and little moments that had made up their relationship so far. “Would you like to hear it?” Emma asked him suddenly, thinking it might help if he heard it.

Killian hesitated a moment before nodding at her. “Okay love,” he said quietly, “I’m all ears.”

“Well,” Emma started, “it all started in the Enchanted Forest…” And for what seemed like hours, Emma told Killian their story. She told him about climbing a beanstalk together to steal from a giant but she left him behind, not willing to take a chance that she was wrong about him; him finding his way to Storybrooke with Cora and causing chaos while he went after the Crocodile; how he tricked them and left them to die while he took the bean but had a change of heart and turned his ship around; journeying to Neverland to save her son, the two of them growing close on the island; Killian being forced to go back to the Enchanted Forest with everyone else while Emma forgot him and all her loved ones; him travelling across realms to find her and get her to remember, taking her back to her family; battling wicked witches and curses and time travelling, their adventure to the past and nearly erasing her from existence; finding out he gave up his ship, his home, for a chance to find her (his mouth formed a surprised “o” as she told him this), leading to her opening her heart and giving him a chance; starting a relationship and everything that came with it, from first dates to first fights, to making up and promising to see the best in each other; Emma being consumed by Darkness, Killian doing everything he could to help her through it before he was consumed by it as well (his jaw clenched at this part, the thought of becoming the thing he hated most, and it made Emma want to reach out and hold him but she didn’t, knowing he needed to hear their whole story); how he nearly succumbed completely to the Darkness and let it destroy his family but he pulled back and sacrificed himself to save them all; Emma travelling to the Underworld to save him, thinking she had to leave him behind and how it broke her heart before he was given a second chance at life by Zeus; moving in together and trying to enjoy their happy ending, while keeping secrets from each other and battling the Evil Queen. Emma left nothing out, telling him the bad with the good. They’d already had too many secrets between them and she didn’t want to keep anything from him. Their story wasn’t always perfect, they’d had their bad moments but they just made the good moments even better. As she spoke, Killian never interrupted her, listening intently to what she said, only his facial expressions giving away his thoughts.

…”And then the Evil Queen took away your memories of me and put you under a sleeping curse. That’s where we are now in our story,” Emma finished, meeting Killian’s gaze head on. He continued to look at her but his face gave nothing away.

“Hmm,” he finally mused, “quite the tale indeed.”

Emma waited for him to continue but when he didn’t, she asked tentatively, “So… do you believe me?”

Killian sighed before answering. “I… I want to, love. Like I said before, I feel some kind of connection to you but…” he let out a little huff of frustration as he struggled to find the words to explain. “That man that you described, the man you’re in love with, I don’t know if I can be that man. I’ve been a villain for a very long time and it’s hard for me to imagine that I could change that much. And you, love, you deserve that man in your story, not a villain like me.”

“You _are_ that man Killian,” Emma said gently. “ _You_ are the man I fell in love with. I knew about your past- you were never shy about it- but I also know the man you became and I love all of you. It doesn’t matter to me what you did in your past. What matters to me is who you are now, and right now you are a good man and a hero. We promised to see the best in each other and I will continue to do that, even if you don’t see the best in yourself right now.”

Killian continued looking at her, his features softening as she spoke, losing the hard lines that had come from so many years of revenge and piracy. He still wasn’t quite her Killian- he still looked a bit skeptical- but she thought she was getting through to him. Lowering his gaze, Killian seemed to contemplate what she was telling him. Lifting his eyes to hers, Killian opened his mouth to say something, than froze. His gaze was fixed on something and he seemed mesmerized by it. Taking a step closer to her, Killian whispered hoarsely, “Where did you get that necklace love?”

Looking down, Emma realized she had unconsciously grabbed hold of the necklace with Liam’s ring and was holding it in her grasp. Lifting it higher so he could inspect it, Emma said quietly, “You gave it to me.”

Killian looked up, startled. “I gave you Liam’s ring?”

Emma nodded her head. “When I went with Merlin to find a way to get rid of the darkness, you gave it to me, said it was what kept you alive all those years. You told me that the Dark One was immortal but I wasn’t, so you gave it to me to keep me safe. And,” Emma added with a small grin, “you said it was a reminder that you had a ‘piercing eyed, smoldering pirate here who loves you.’”

As Killian kept looking at her, looking a little gob smacked, Emma felt herself get nervous. Would he believe he gave away Liam’s ring? What if he thought she stole it or something?

“I gave you Liam’s ring,” he repeated quietly, almost to himself. Looking up at her, he said, “I must have loved you to give it to you.”

Emma felt her heart swell with happiness. “You did,” she whispered, letting out a watery chuckle as she felt tears of joy in her eyes.

“What happens now?” Killian questioned.

“Well, when I wake up, I’ll kiss you and hope True Love’s Kiss works. But if it doesn’t, now that I’ve been under a sleeping curse, I can come here anytime and I’ll keep trying to convince you. I won’t stop Killian, not until you believe in us and wake up.”

Killian smiled at her, than tilted his head in confusion. “Wait, what do you mean _now_ that you’ve been under a sleeping curse? Didn’t you have to be under one already to travel here?”

“That’s how the rest of my family got here, because they’ve all been cursed before. But this is my first time being under a sleeping curse,” Emma admitted. “It was the only way for me to get here to see you.”

Killian’s mouth dropped open in shock as he stared at her. Emma could see a mix of emotions on his face- disbelief, gratitude, but overwhelmingly, something that looked a lot like love. Clearing his throat, Killian whispered hoarsely, emotion choking him up a bit, “I’ll admit I’m surprised love. It’s been awhile since I’ve had someone care enough about me to make such a grand gesture.”

“Well,” Emma started, feeling her own emotions overwhelm her a bit, because it hurt to think that Killian felt he didn’t have anyone who cared about him, “now you have a lot of people who love you and all of them were willing to travel here to help you. You have a family now Killian and this family never gives up on each other.”

Suddenly, Emma felt a tugging sensation. Looking down, she saw that her hands were starting to become translucent. “I’m waking up,” she said to Killian, meeting his gaze. “Killian, do you love me? Because I need you to believe for this kiss to work.”

Looking deeply into her eyes, Killian said, “I think I could, love.”

Smiling, Emma replied, “Well then, hopefully I’ll see you soon.” The last thing she saw was Killian gazing at her with a hopeful look on his face.

*****

With a gasp, Emma opened her eyes to see Henry looking down at her, the faces of her mother and Regina gathered behind him. “Well, did it work?” Henry asked.

“Only one way to find out,” Emma said, sitting up and turning to Killian. Reaching her hand out, she stroked his cheek, feeling his familiar stubble brush against her skin. Leaning down, she whispered, “Come back to me,” before pressing her lips to his.

Right away, Emma could tell this was different from her previous attempts. She could feel heat blossoming from where their lips met before rushing through her veins like fire and then a rush of magic burst out, lifting her hair in the breeze, creating a halo around her. Keeping her lips pressed to his, Emma took a moment to savor the feeling before pulling back.

Blue was the first thing she saw; blue eyes opening as he gasped for air, his chest beneath her rising and falling. Staring at her, Killian whispered, “Swan?”

“Killian,” she breathed. Before she could say anything else, he surged forward, pressing his lips frantically to hers, tangling his hand in her hair, his other arm going around her waist to press her as close to him as possible as he sat up. Emma could tell that this was _her_ Killian with all of his memories intact, the way he was kissing her leaving no room for doubt. Not breaking contact, he whispered, “You did it Swan,” his lips brushing deliciously against hers. “You saved me,” he said wonderingly.

Leaning back a bit to look him in the eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her fingers through his soft hair, Emma smiled as she said in a teasing voice, “Did you ever doubt I would?”

“I could never doubt you love,” Killian said decisively. “Although the memory loss gave me a bit of pause.”

Laughing, Emma started to kiss every part of his face, feeling his arms tighten around her as he laughed with her. Emma almost forgot that they had an audience before she heard someone clear their throat. Turning, Emma looked at her family sheepishly.

“Killian,” Henry exclaimed, rushing forward to throw his arms around the man. Killian untangled himself from Emma, wrapping one arm around Henry while holding Emma’s hand with the other, not quite willing to let her go just yet. “It worked! You’re awake!”

“Aye lad, I am, thanks to all of you.” Looking over Henry’s shoulder, he said to Snow and Regina, “Thank you, for everything.”

“Of course,” Snow said as she stepped forward to give him a hug as well. “You’re family, Killian, and this family…”

“Never gives up on each other,” he finished. “Aye, I was reminded of that recently.”

Standing up, pulling Killian with her, Emma opened her mouth to thank her family when she heard a door crash open, than footsteps pounding up the stairs. Regina and Snow whirled towards the door, the former conjuring a fireball, as Emma grabbed Henry and tugged him behind her, holding Killian with the other hand. As the group faced the door, Emma tried not to curse out loud. Couldn’t they have five minutes of peace before the next disaster?

The door swung open, nearly hitting the wall with the force it was pushed, to reveal David looking wildly around the room. When his eyes landed on his wife, he breathed out, “Snow,” before striding forward.

“David!” Snow exclaimed, rushing forward to meet her husband. The two met in an emotional embrace, wrapping their arms around each other, holding each other as close as possible. As they passionately kissed, making up for lost time, Emma and the others averted their eyes, not wanting to interrupt the private moment between the couple.

When he finally pulled back from Snow, David looked over at his daughter before taking two quick strides to hug Emma, cupping her head with the back of his hand.

“Dad,” Emma said, “you’re awake! But how? Not that I’m not happy about it,” she quickly assured him. “But how are you and Mom awake at the same time? Did you break the curse?”

“I don’t know,” David replied as he let go of Emma, reaching for Snow. “I woke up in the loft and assumed Snow had switched places with me but then I noticed she wasn’t there. And I felt different somehow. Lighter, like a weight had been lifted off my chest. It was like when I was woken up from the sleeping curse, so I thought maybe somehow our curse had been broken. I rushed over here to find out.”

“I had that same feeling,” Snow admitted. “But it was right after Emma and Killian broke their sleeping curse, so I thought it was just happiness at them being together. It must have been our curse being broken too.”

“But how was the curse broken?” Emma questioned. “We didn’t do anything to break it.”

“Maybe you did do something Emma,” Regina mused. “Snow, you said it was right after their True Love’s Kiss, right?”

“Yes,” Snow replied.

Turning to David, Regina said, “They kissed about five minutes ago. Was that when you woke up?”

Tilting his head as he considered it, David said, “Yeah, I guess it was about that time.”

“Wait a sec,” Emma said, turning to look at Killian, who looked as confused as she felt. “Are you trying to say that our True Love kiss not only broke our curse but my parents as well?”

“It’s possible,” Regina replied, looking at the pair speculatively. “You are the product of True Love, after all. It could be that your True Love kiss is more powerful than others.”

“Yeah, like when your kiss woke me up and broke the curse on the town,” Henry chimed in.

Emma looked back at Killian, who was giving her a small smile. Lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing her knuckles, Killian quietly said, “I guess it’s true, Swan. True Love can break any curse. You really are the Savior. Well, my Savior at least,” he added with a roguish grin.

Smiling back, Emma rested her head on his shoulder. Looking around at her family, Emma felt her heart swell with happiness. They had all been through a lot recently, with prophecies of death, curses, and secrets kept, but they had made it through and most importantly they were all together again. Emma knew the Evil Queen was still out there, probably waiting to strike again, but for right now Emma and her family had won and she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of struggled with this chapter a bit to be honest, since I didn't want Killian to believe Emma right away but I also wanted to show their connection and not drag it out too long, so hopefully I was able to get a good balance. Only one chapter left to go! Hope to have it up next week sometime, so keep an eye out for it :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here it is, the final chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing this story. Thank you to everyone who took time to read this and leave a kudos or comment, it's very appreciated!

The kitchen was abuzz with talk and laughter, with everyone enjoying a bit of a break from battling the Evil Queen. Snow had suggested they have a small gathering to celebrate their small victory; nothing too extravagant, just a few drinks and snacks. The others had been quick to agree, with Killian suggesting they invite Belle to join them as she had been a part of his rescue as well. Now they were all together, the adults drinking wine and champagne (or rum in a certain pirate’s case) while Henry sipped on his soda, enjoying each other’s company. David cleared his throat, the sound easily carrying over the rest of the conversation, causing everyone else to grow silent.

“I want to say something,” he said once he had everyone’s attention, turning to his daughter as he spoke. “Emma, I am so proud of you for what you did today. You didn’t give up on saving Hook, even though it seemed like we had an impossible task of saving him. I’ve said before that True Love is never easy but it must be fought for. And in doing so, you not only broke Hook’s curse, you were able to break the curse on your mother and me as well, for which we will forever be grateful. We might not have defeated the Evil Queen but we won this battle and it reminds us that with a little bit of hope, nothing can tear this family apart.” David paused at this point, looking around at all of them gathered around the island. “I’d like to propose a toast, to family. And I’m so glad the entire family could be here,” he finished, looking at Snow and Hook in particular.

“To family,” the others echoed, clinking their glasses together. Emma took a sip of her champagne, feeling the bubbly sensation make its way down her throat. Lowering her glass, Emma offered Killian a small smile before taking a step closer to take his hand in hers. Since he’d been woken from his sleeping curse, Emma hadn’t let him too far out of her sight, half afraid she’d lose him again. She had a feeling they wouldn’t be too far from each other’s side anytime soon.

“I’d like to say something as well,” Killian spoke. Emma looked over at him; he’d been pretty quiet through the whole evening, seeming content to absorb what everyone else was saying. She watched as his shoulders rose, taking in a deep breath before continuing.

“I just wanted to say thank you to all of you,” he said as he looked around at everyone in the room. “I know it can’t have been easy for any of you to willingly travel to the Netherworld. That was my first time there and I know I’d like to avoid the place if possible, but all of you chose to go there to try to save me. And I’m sure I wasn’t the easiest person to talk to when you first found me there.”

“Yeah, I forgot how obnoxious you were when we first met,” David quipped, causing everyone to chuckle, Killian included.

“Yes, well, as all of you pointed out, I’ve changed. But when you found me in the Netherworld, I still thought I was that revenge obsessed pirate who would stop at nothing to kill the Dark One, even if it meant harming innocent people” (Killian looked over at Belle as he said this, a guilty look on his face, while Belle gave him a small smile and reached out to give his arm a quick squeeze). “And while it took meeting Emma for me to believe that I had found love again, it was all of you that convinced me I was possible of change. So thank you, for helping me find myself again.” Killian raised his flask to all of them before taking a quick swig.

“We’d do it again Killian,” Snow said warmly. “You’re part of this family and it’s just not the same without you.”

“Hear hear!” Henry chimed in, everyone laughing at his enthusiasm and raising their glasses in agreement. As silence descended on them, the only sound the gulping of their drinks, Emma once again looked around at her family. It had been too long since they were all together and she was going to cherish it while it lasted.

*****

Emma woke with a start, her heart thumping as she sat up. She’d had another nightmare of her impending doom, the black figure stalking towards her with a sword raised while her hands shook, unable to do anything to stop them. Trying to calm her racing heart, Emma turned towards Killian’s side of the bed, hoping he’d be able to chase the nightmares away, only to discover that it was empty.

Heart pounding for an entirely different reason now, Emma quickly got out of bed to find where her pirate had gotten to. He was probably just in the bathroom, right? But no, the door to the bathroom was open and the light was off, so he wasn’t there. Maybe he’d gone to the kitchen to get a midnight snack?

Descending down the stairs, Emma strained to hear any movement but all she could hear was her own footsteps. Seeing the kitchen and living room empty, she could feel herself starting to panic again. Where could he be? He wouldn’t leave, she knew that. Had the Evil Queen struck again?

Hearing a creaking sound, Emma turned towards the front door and saw that it was slightly ajar, a light breeze pushing it open just a tiny bit. Emma made her way towards it, praying that Killian had just gone outside for fresh air.

As soon as she stepped out onto the porch, she saw Killian sitting on the bench they had out front, staring contemplatively at his rum flask. Hearing the door open, he looked up. “Swan,” he said, “what are you doing up love?”

Making her way towards him, Emma sat down on the bench, close enough to feel the heat radiating off him. “I had a nightmare and when I woke up you weren’t there.”

“I’m sorry love,” he murmured as he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closer. Emma wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder as she tucked herself into his side, that spot that seemed to be made just for her. “I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to disturb you, so I thought some fresh air might clear my head.”

“It’s okay,” she replied, letting out a little sigh of contentment as she felt him kiss the top of her head, his fingers playing with the strands of her hair. “I guess I’m still a little on edge right now with everything that’s happened. It just scared me, not knowing where you were.”

“I understand. I get the same way sometimes.”

The two of them settled into silence for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and quiet, the coolness of the night air gently caressing their faces. There was something about being awake when no one else was, the darkness bringing out a different side to the world.

“So you seemed kind of quiet earlier,” Emma commented. “Everything okay?”

“Aye love, I was just a bit… overwhelmed I suppose.”

Emma sat up straight to look him in the eye, bringing one hand up to the back of his head, running her fingers through the soft strands. “Overwhelmed?”

Killian nodded, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “When I was under the Queen’s curse, I was back to being that revenge obsessed pirate that I was for so long. And that man hadn’t had many people care about him for a very long time. When I was woken up from the curse and remembered everyone who cared for me, it was a bit startling. Sometimes I forget just how many people are in my life now.” Looking down with a self-deprecating smile, Killian said, “I guess I’m still not used to having people care about me.”

Feeling her heart clench, Emma placed her hand under his chin and gently tilted it up until Killian was looking her in the eyes. “Well, get used to it,” she said firmly. “You have a family now who love you very much and will do anything for you. That’s why all of us went to the Netherworld. Because we love you.”

“Aye love, I know. It just reminded me of how far I’ve come since we first met. From being alone and looking out for myself, to having a family that I would anything for and who would do the same for me.”

Smiling, Emma said, “We’ve both come a long way, haven’t we? Before I came to Storybrooke, I never would have imagined having so many people in my life. And now I have Henry, my parents…”

“Me,” Killian said quietly.

“Yes, you,” Emma agreed. “I can’t imagine my life any other way now and I hope I never have to.”

“Aye love, me too,” Killian whispered, his eyes downcast a little bit as he looked at her. Knowing he was thinking of the visions she was having, Emma ran her thumb over his cheek, giving him an encouraging smile before leaning forward to kiss him. She knew tomorrow was uncertain but with Killian by her side she had everything she needed and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

“Come on, let’s get some sleep. It’s been a long couple days,” she said, standing up and holding her hand out to him.

He took it with a smirk, saying, “Actually, I’ve had entirely too much sleep the past couple days.” Laughing as she gently smacked his chest, he finished, “But I’m sure I’ll sleep much better with you in my arms.”

“Yeah, me too,” Emma replied, wrapping her arm around his waist as he placed his around her shoulders, the two of them making their way inside and up the stairs. They still had to find a way to defeat the Evil Queen and the shadowy figure that meant her doom but they would do it the way they did everything: Together.


End file.
